Teamwork: Wirtgen Group Machines prepared the ground for the new Benninghoven brand headquarters

The new Benninghoven plant in Wittlich is being built over a sizable area of 310,000 m² for 130 million Euros. One thing is sure: It will stand on a firm foundation, because Wirtgen soil stabilizers and Hamm rollers created the load-bearing base for it.

First up on the site were the civil engineers. A key part of their task was to create level and load-bearing surfaces for the 60,000-m² production and logistics hall, the 12,000-m² central building with offices and the traffic routes. The terrain was completely remodeled and stabilized to that end.

Soil compaction was completed by Hamm compactors with padfood drums. Compactors with smooth drums then saw to the final compaction.

“The height difference was originally around 8 - 9 m. Leveling the area required removing and replacing some 400,000 m³ of soil,” explains Heinrich Plein, Production Engineer at Benninghoven and member of the internal construction site management team. He is delighted that the site is getting a little bit closer to the desired form each day, because his sights are firmly fixed on the goal: “We are laying the ground for an advanced production facility that will enable us to manufacture premium mixing plants in higher quantities than before. That’s why quality has been a key con cern right from the start – and the base is where it all begins.”

Quality from A-Z

Playing the main roles in this foundation work: Two Wirtgen soil stabilizers and up to six Hamm compactors. The team from EBS Bodenstabilisierungs GmbH used the soil stabilizers to expertly mix in a lime-cement mixture tailored to the soil quality in up to 12 layers, each 40 cm deep.

EBS proprietor Jürgen Scharnbach specialized in soil stabilization and improvement 35 years ago – and is still successful and highly satisfied with Wirtgen equipment: “The Wirtgen soil stabilizers are the best on the market, particularly in terms of working speed, longevity and handling.”

The Wirtgen soil stabilizers poured 50-75 kg of a lime-cement mixture into every square meter of soil in each layer – that's around 23,000 t across the whole site.

Once the binder had been mixed in, civil engineering general contractor Strabag AG had Hamm compactors waiting in the wings for the all-important compaction work. The first passes were completed by multiple compactors with padfoot drums working in pairs or trios. Two further compactors with smooth drums then saw to the final compaction.

The result was convincing: “All the load-bearing capacity and compaction values measured met the requirements of the construction contract. The individual layers are even, smooth and have no cracks – a textbook example,” according to Eduard Weber, Building Material Inspector with sbt, the road and concrete construction lab charged with quality assurance.

The stable foundation for the future employee parking lot was laid by the trainees of the Wirtgen Group on their Trainee Technology Days.

Tried-and-tested brand duo hits the mark

Site Managers Kristina Fischer and Siena Schneider of Strabag AG are also highly satisfied with the work produced by the machines, because “so far only heavy frost and pouring rain have held up our plans. Unlike the stabilizing equipment from Wirtgen and Hamm. The machines work perfectly and reliably, so we don‘t need to worry. That’s the way it should be.”

“We are highly satisfied with the work that the Wirtgen soil stabilizers and Hamm compactors are delivering here,” said the delighted site management team from Strabag AG: Site Manager B. Eng. Kristina Fischer, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Siena Schneider and Dipl.-Ing. Thorsten Ragge.

Coming full circle

It was matter of honor that the subsequent asphalting work for Benninghoven was also performed with Wirtgen Group machines. So it was fitting that one of the first ever Benninghoven asphalt mixing plants – constructed in Ürzig more than 30 years ago and owned by Juchem – delivered the asphalt for the paths, roads, parking and storage areas on the new grounds, and that this was then paved and compacted using Wirtgen Group technologies.

All the halls and office buildings are already in place. The interior fitting work is progressing: The electrical equipment, air conditioning and heating system, drywalling and components of large machinery such as the powder-coating facility are already being installed in the halls.

Close to our customers

Communication is everything

Press Media

Please download the ZIP-archive with the press release as WORD-file and the photos in 300 dpi in your relevant language.

Download

Contact person

WIRTGEN AMERICA, Inc. is a member of the WIRTGENGROUP, an internationally operating group of companies in the construction machinery sector incorporating the traditional product brands: WIRTGEN, VÖGELE, HAMM, KLEEMANN and BENNINGHOVEN. As technological leader, we can offer our customers mobile machine solutions for road construction and road rehabilitation, plants for mining and processing minerals or recycling material and for the production of asphalt. Our ratios: In 2017 the WIRTGEN GROUP generated consolidated sales of 3 billion euros. Presently the WIRTGEN GROUP employs 8,200 people.

WIRTGEN AMERICA, Inc. is a member of the WIRTGENGROUP, an internationally operating group of companies in the construction machinery sector incorporating the traditional product brands: WIRTGEN, VÖGELE, HAMM, KLEEMANN and BENNINGHOVEN. As technological leader, we can offer our customers mobile machine solutions for road construction and road rehabilitation, plants for mining and processing minerals or recycling material and for the production of asphalt. Our ratios: In 2017 the WIRTGEN GROUP generated consolidated sales of 3 billion euros. Presently the WIRTGEN GROUP employs 8,200 people.